MILLBURN — Canada's largest bookstore chain has opened its first U.S. store in New Jersey, stepping foot into a crowded market already dominated by homegrown giants Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Indigo, which celebrated its grand opening Thursday in the midst of the state's first snowstorm, brings a unique concept that it says differentiates it from competitors. The store is located inside the Mall at Short Hills, and had a soft opening in October.

"Canadians were responding so well to this evolution of a bookstore into what we call a book lovers’ 'cultural department store,' " Heather Reisman, the chain's chief executive, said. "We felt given the response Canadians were having to it, that we would have the opportunity" to expand into the Northeast.

The customer base in Short Hills, which she described as families of book lovers, served as a draw for their decision to start there. The chain also looked at the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, and has considered expanding to other cities in the Northeast such as Boston, Washington, D.C., and New York, Reisman said.

"We have looked at other areas here," Reisman said. "We’ll probably do a handful of stores to get the experience. Then we’ll see what happens."

Indigo, which according to its website operates 85 superstores and 120 small-format stores, launched its "cultural department store" concept in 2016. The concept aims to create an experience for customers beyond the book, Reisman said. The store in Short Hills, at 30,000-square-feet, has nine departments that offer products relevant to books in each section.

Heather Reisman, chief executive of Canada-based Indigo, inside the chain's first U.S. store at the Mall at Short Hills on Thurs., Nov. 15, 2018. Photo by Melanie Anzidei, NorthJersey.com. Melanie Anzidei/NorthJersey.com

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"At the heart and soul of it are books and the ideas in books, and what [customers] are going to experience is a series of shops all inspired by books, but where there are additional products that we feel will enrich their lives," Reisman said. "In each of the shops, at least 50 percent of the products are designed by us. Each shop is a real, rich offering that is an extension of the books in that area."

In Short Hills, those departments are: the book shop, home, the joy of the table, a room of her own, the wellness shop, the paper shop, CaféIndigo, IndigoKids and Indigobaby.

The idea of each shop is to extend the customer experience beyond just reading a book. A prime example is Indigo's reading socks, which tempt readers to cozy up while reading, or the table-top offerings in its "Joy of the table" section, which began as a cookbooks section. In the IndigoKids section, customers can find products that help childhood development.

Customers also have ample options to sit and read or enjoy a cup of coffee throughout the store. In each section, the employees are well-versed in ways to help consumers get the most of whatever book or product they are interested in, which is something unique to Indigo, Reisman said.

"You’re getting a culmination of the product and knowledge," Reisman said. "If you’re in the Wellness shop, we’re going to talk to you about meditation, about hydration, about sleep. In each shop, it’s the books, it’s the products, and it’s the staff who are knowledgeable about that particular area."

Indigo entered the U.S. market at a time when the industry giant, Barnes & Noble, is rethinking its own strategy as it struggles to compete with Amazon. Earlier this week, the bookstore chain opened its first prototype store in New Jersey inside the Shops at Riverside in Hackensack. At 19,000 square feet, this store is nearly half the size of its original, two-level locations — including the original Barnes & Noble inside that mall.

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Bricks-and-mortar bookstores have had to compete with Amazon, which offers shoppers the option to stay put at home and do their shopping online. But, even Amazon couldn't deny that customers still wanted their books. The online retailer opened its first, 4,000-square-foot bookstore in New Jersey at that Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus last summer. Experts have said that books can lure consumers to sign up for digital memberships like Amazon Prime or electronics, like digital tablets.

Reisman, Indigo's chief executive, is betting that consumers will realize that books are far from extinct. By offering customers a 30,000-square-foot oasis to sit down, grab a cup of coffee and become part of a community, with events in-store, the Canadian chain is offering something that American giants have begun to shy away from.

"I actually think rather than books going away, we as human beings are going to recognize that the physical book may be the best technology ever invented," Reisman said. She also said, "At some point, people are going to get out of their houses. They buy what they have to buy on Amazon. If you want to have an enriched experience, you come to this store."

Indigo's store opening in Short Hills is part of the company's broader retail strategy, the company said on its website. Indigo in 2018 opened five stores including Indigo Robson in Vancouver, and has pursued the renovation and re-branding of nine stores across Canada, according to its website.